Grimm Soul and Red Rose
by Keeper Of The One Winged Angel
Summary: Qrow finds a young boy named Verde Cadman near the ruins of mountain glenn, who is this boy and what changes will his presence bring to the World of Remnant ?


THE GRIMM SOUL AND THE RED ROSE

 **AN; Hey guys Keeper of the One Winged Angel here, I would like to let everyone know that this is my first RWBY fanfic so go easy on me I'd also like to send a huge shout out to my good friend TheBoredBoot for helping me plan out the story out. He's been a great help and I recommend his stories to any OC readers, Now let me make something clear this story will be a Slight AU meaning that it will still follow the RWBY Canon**

 **Now be warned, this is an OC x Ruby (Sorry White Rose Shippers) if this story is not your cup of tea you don't have to read it but to anyone who is into OC fics like myself then please read, favorite, follow and review.**

 **RWBY and it's characters are property of Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (RIP). I only own my OC's now without further ado, let the adventure begin.**

 **Chapter 1: The Encounter**

Location: outskirts of Vale

Verde ran through the forest on a dark stormy night, the ruins of Mountain Glenn towering over him as he continued running, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath, it had seemed like he had been running for hours and he knew he was nearing the end of his strength.

Three days had passed in this forest of trees and fog, three days since he had started running for his life from the Grimm that relentlessly hunted him, digging from deep within him the willpower to keep going he searched for safety and shelter from the storm .

 _"I have to keep running, I refuse to go back to that horrible place!"_ The boy mentally screamed to himself running as fast as his legs could take him, ignoring the various cuts he had acquired in this final attempt to at freedom.

A loud howling suddenly broke the silence, encouraging the boy to run faster as felt the nearby presence of the creatures of Grimm. Seeing the remnants of a solid looking building ahead, Verde continued running until he reached the old building that looked like no one had lived in for many years.

Following his instincts and desperate for his own survival he entered the building, looking over everything around him, the furniture he noticed was all torn up by claw marks that were everywhere. At one point he figured Grimm were here at some point when people had lived here once. Looking up he noticed that part of the ceiling was destroyed allowing rain to fall into the building.

" _What is this place? There's no way that this could be someone's home... I don't see anything of importance, so what could this place be?"_ Verde thought as he entered what seemed to be the kitchen, following a strange smell. It smelled extremely horrible here as well, "Must not be only the bodies here but the food as well… This place has been abandoned for a long time..." The boy said to no one in particular as he opened one of the cabinets hoping to find food, and maybe some supplies to keep him alive.

Suddenly thunder boomed again making the boy jump slightly, shaking it off he continued to explore the building coming to what appeared like the dining room, it looked to be the mostly destroyed, with the floorboards looking as if they were going to give in any minute, with rain coming in from the windows being shattered.

Verde started to shiver a little as the cold began to set in, moving back to the living room he found a black blanket on the sofa and he wrapped it around his frail body hoping to get some semblance of warmth and not freeze to death. "It's getting cold but I have just wait for the storm to die down, once it dies down I can keep going and pray someone finds me."

Fear started to take over for the boy as he thought, _"what if no one finds me? I'm in the middle of nowhere and there's a Grimm hot on my tail with the intention of eating me alive!"_ These thoughts raced through his mind as tears started to fall down his eyes but he wiped them away, he had to stay strong and just wait until someone found him, still there was always that doubt in the back of his mind that he would die in this place, alone and afraid.

The silence was soon broken by a loud howling from outside, no doubt the Beowolves that had been hunting him were on the move again, the howl was much closer than before. Thinking to himself, "my options are limited, if I stay here the Grimm will kill me for sure, but if I make a break for it maybe I could outrun them again."

With nowhere left to hide the green haired boy decided to make a break for the door, running as fast as he could and bursting out the door he sprinted towards the forest, hearing a sharp growl he turned, his eyes widening in horror as the two Beowolves that were sniffing around charged after him.

In his last attempt to run Verde lost his footing and fell to the ground. Unable to regain his footing he knew it was too late, the Beowolves were getting closer and right as they lunged at him, he could only lay there in absolute fear. Unable to do anything except close his eyes and prepare himself for the end.

There was nothing but silence...

When he finally opened his eyes they widened at what he saw. Both Beowolves had been cut clean in half by a man now standing before him. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties wearing a red tattered cloak with black spiky hair, wielding an impressive scythe, his crimson eyes looking at the boy with a intense curiosity.

"You okay kid?" The man asked facing the boy, his tone rough but not necessarily threatening. The boy who nodded as he got to his feet and nervously stuttered, "t-t-t-thank you for saving me sir, if you didn't show up I would've been a goner for sure."

Hearing this the man looked at verde and gave him a small smile before taking out a flask from his pocket and taking a swig. "Don't mention it kid it's just part of my job. Now mind explaining why a runt like you is running from Grimm way out here? Judging from the the look of you, you must have gone through hell," he said knowing full well that a child his age wouldn't been running through the forest without a good reason.

Verde looked at the Huntsman with tears building up in his eyes before crying out," I honestly don't know sir. All I remember is a lab underground, then something went wrong and now here I am running for my life."

The man narrowed his eyes hearing this. He knew that children recently over the years had been mysteriously disappearing all over Remnant, but during his time searching he never found any solid leads as to where or why, that was until now.

Straightening up he looked down at the boy and said, "first off kid my name is Qrow Branwen and I'm a Huntsman from Vale. I've been on the search for who or whatever has been behind the disappearance of the children that have been going missing, and so far you're the only thing I've found in three months searching, so I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe." putting away his scythe, Qrow extending his hand to the green haired boy. "I have a friend in Vale who might be able to help you, but it will take awhile for us to get back to the Kingdom so I suggest that we leave now."

Verde looked at Qrow's extended hand with a wary expression on his face, his mind racing. _"What should I do, should I trust this man who saved me? For all I know he could've been sent to kill me, but if he was then why would he go through all that trouble to save me,"_ Verde thought as he took a few steps back from the Huntsman.

Qrow noticed this let out a small chuckle. "I can tell that you're cautious about coming with me and I can understand that you don't trust me kid, hell I don't blame you after everything you must've gone through. But just think about it for a second," Qrow said taking out a map handing it to the boy. "The route you're taking would make the first village you'd reach be about a several day's walk by foot, and even if you somehow managed to get there, how would you get to Vale which is even further away?" Giving the boy a hard look he ran his hand through his hair.

"Look kid the nearest village to this area is called Norwich, it's a small trading village nothing too fancy but a lot closer. The amount of time that it would take to get there would probably be a couple of hours, and then from there a ride back to Vale would be no more than another hour tops. That is if I'm able to call in a favor."

Verde listened to this and gave the Huntsman a suspicious look. As much as he did not want to accept the help of a man who was basically stranger to him,he knew he had no other choice. With the Grimm hot on his trail Verde's options were limited, so after a few seconds of silence he finally spoke. "Ok fine you've convinced me, I'll go with you to Vale, but how will we get there? You said something about calling in a favour, what do you mean by that?"

Qrow pondered the question before answering with, "well let's just say that a friend of mine owes me for helping her out, and since we are both out in the middle of nowhere I figured, I'll call in my favor since that'll make getting to Vale easier and safer. So now we just need to get to Norwich, there we can rest up and wait for her to get there."

Verde examined the map again and from what he could tell everything seemed to be in order, the directions which looked real enough to and the landmarks too, but what made it more believable and what got the boy's attention was the name of the nearby village on the map.

" _None of these landmarks seem familiar,"_ Verde thought as his eyes going wide upon therealization, _"so he didn't lie to me, but if he says that this friend can help me then maybe I should put my trust in him, it's better than staying here ending up as some Grimms next meal,"_ looking up at Qrow with eyes wide as dinner plates his mouth slightly open he fought to hold back tears, he couldn't believe someone had found him after being alone for so long, someone had finally found him, he barely held back his tears.

Qrow could only give another light chuckle before taking his flask out again, "Judging by the look on your face you seem to at least trust me enough to come with me. That's a good start but we don't have time to continue playing twenty questions, if you want answers I promise you that you'll get them when we reach Beacon," Qrow said taking the map putting it back in his pocket before turning around and following a path leading away from the building. Noticing the boy wasn't moving he turned around and looked at the boy.

"Well what are you waiting for kid an invitation? We won't reach Norwich Village for at least another hour and I for one would like to get there before anymore Grimm show up," his tone kind but impatient as he tapped his foot.

 **Ozpin's office in Beacon Academy**

Professor Ozpin was many things wise, understanding, even seeming to know when something was going to happen before they did. However there were some things in this world that even he could not predict

Being the headmaster of Beacon Academy; one of the most prestige combat schools in Remnant, meant Ozpin had a responsibilities not only to the students of Beacon, but also to the citizens of Vale. Ozpin despite his appearance was an aged man with grayish silver hair, often seen wearing his normal outfit that consisted of a unzipped black sult over a buttoned green vest, along with black shoes and long dark green pants. Besides his iconic glasses he always has perched neatly on his nose Ozpin is always seen with his simple clockwork walking cane.

Sitting at the large desk in his office taking a sip of coffee, he looked at his scroll with a grim expression on his face, " _it would seem like Qrow found a child while on his mission, judging by the way he describes him the boy appears to be very young, could this be one of the missing children that have been reported throughout the kingdoms?"_ Lost in his thoughts he failed to notice that professor Glynda Goodwitch had entered the room, a stern look on her face as she approached him.

Glynda was a middle aged women with light blonde hair tied in a perfect bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face, wearing a long white sleeved top with a long purple cape going nicely with her high waisted skirt and thigh high stockings finished neatly with a pair of black heeled boots, closing the door behind her and making her way to the headmaster. "You wanted to see me sir?" Glynda asked tapping her iconic riding crop and looking the headmaster noticing the look of uneasiness on his face.

"Yes Glynda thank you for coming, now you remember the mission that I sent Qrow on," she nodded her before letting Ozpin continue. "it would seem that he has found someone while investigating that lead, the first good thing we've found in almost nine months," Ozpin explained showing Glynda his scroll before taking another sip from his mug, Glynda's eyes widened there on the screen was a boy around nine with dark green hair judging by his condition the child must have been through something very horrible, regaining her composure she gave the scroll back to Ozpin before speaking.

"Professor what is a child doing on the outskirts of Mountain Glenn and more importantly how did he end up there!" Glynda asked doing her best to contain her anger, she knew children have been going missing all over rement at first it was only around Vale but it eventually got worse, reports of missing children have been reported all around the four kingdoms, the situation escalated to the point that the Vale Police Force authorized a curfew for the citizens, after calming down Ozpin spoke, "I can't honestly answer that question Glynda but according to Qrow the boy was alone when he found him had he arrived sooner the child would have met his end by the Grimm, now I've been thinking why would is this boy roaming the forest or better yet how did he end up there...

"There must be something special about this boy because according to what Qrow said this child was able to outrun a pack of Beowolves," turning his gaze towards Glynda whose eyes went wide after hearing that but before she had a chance to voice her thoughts she was interrupted, "I know that look have asked Qrow to bring this boy to Beacon so we can have a few words with him, so while we wait for their arrival I would like you to prepare one of the vacant dorm rooms with everything he will need seeing as we won't be getting any new students for a while and it would also be a good way to put the boy at ease."

Nodding her head Glynda walked towards the elevator to begin preparations for Qrow's return, but as she began to leave one thought could not leave her mind _"This doesn't make any sense ever since these abductions started about a month ago, then all of a sudden some child is found near Mountain Glenn. I don't know about Ozpin but I feel like something bad is heading towards Vale I just hope that whatever it is we will be ready for it,"_ with thatGlynda left the room leaving Ozpin alone to collect his thoughts.

 **On the road to Norwich Village**

Hours have passed since Qrow rescued the green haired boy, who he'd learned was named Verde Griffith, because he was able to contact Ozpin informing him on his mission progress Qrow had some piece of mind turning around he saw Verde who was lagging behind with a frown on his face, holding back a chuckle the huntsman reached into his pocket for his scroll, " _I can't believe that I have to call her of all people but then again it would make getting back to Vale a hell of alot faster, I just hope she doesn't give me the same song and dance song but then again she's a Schnee I wouldn't expect anything less!"_ Releasing a heavy sigh he began to dial random numbers before turning to his little companion "Alright kid let's take a little break while you rest up i'm making a call to a old friend of mine so you don't over work yourself."

Nodding his head the boy sat on top of a nearby boulder looking up at the sky noticing all the stars are out due to everything that has transpired he never had never had the to admire the beauty of the night sky releasing a small sigh thinking to himself, " _the stars look so nice, running from those deam grimm made me forget how gorgeous the stars look who would've thought that I would still be alive after almost being eaten by those grimm i'm lucky to even be alive, but now is not the time to think about the past I've gotta figure out what to do once we get to vale if what this old guy says is true then it's not the first time he's been out here!"_ Turning his head he saw Qrow on his scroll with most doubtedly the friend he mentioned back at the house turning his head back at the sky trying to get a grip of the events that have transpired still trying to wrap his head around it, " _I don't get it what happened to me why how did I end up in that forest and better question is where did I come from before all this happened!"_

His face forming into a frown as he lowered his head toward looking at the Huntsman, " _But if this Qrow guy is right and there happens to be a village nearby then the rest of the trip to Beacon should be a breeze, but something feels wrong here. I feel like there's something following us,"_ shaking his head quickly the before laying down on the boulder, _"calm down Verde there is nothing following us, then why do I get this strange feeling that something is following us, but I can't let stuff like that get me down if this old guy says he has a friend who can help me out as much as I don't want to do it i'm gonna have to trust him and who know maybe this friend will be able to help me out with my memory loss!"_

The silence was abruptly broken by Qrow who let out a sigh of annoyance, "okay kid break time's over we still have a lot ground to cover if we want to reach Norwich, and seeing as this rain is finally dying down we could probably get there by nightfall if we hurry up." Looking at the map and the turning back to the boy he explained, "if we stick to this path we should get there within another hour as long, as you don't get sidetracked asking questions you runt."

Verde looked at the huntsman with a nervous look before answering, "Yes first of all do you think we can find me some clothes ? i've been in these rags for who knows how long and would love to wear something comfortable for a change," crossing his arms behind his head as he struggled keep up with the older man.

"Don't worry about that kid" Qrow reassured the boy, "once we get to Norwich I'll get you some new clothes, but first I have to ask what happened to you before those grimm chased after you, it's not everyday you see a kid your age running around the woods without a good reason so mind explaining." Crossing his arms as he looked at the young boy. _"this kid is one big question mark, first how the hell did a kid who is only a year older than Ruby end up being so close to mountain Glenn, plus those Grimm acted more savage than usual it's as if they were following and if that's the case this kid is somehow connected to it all"._

Verde gave the old man frown before answering, "to be completely honest with you old man, everything that happened before you found me is all a blur, the only thing I remember are voices telling me that I'll become something greater than the Grimm, other than that I don't remember." this shocked Qrow, " _This is not good, whoever is kidnapping these kids are somehow using Grimm in some way or form, and if that's the case I'd better hurry back to beacon!"_ Regaining his composure, the Huntsman allowed this information sink in as he watched the green haired boy closely,

Before Qrow, had a chance to press the topic further, the silence was broken as they noticed a group of man appeared from the opposite side of the ravine. " _What perfect timing judging by the way they're dressed, they must be a group hunters who are trying to earn some quick cash let's just hope they're willing to help us out."_

"Greetingsstranger, me and my boys couldn't help but notice you wondering with your son around the outskirts of Mountain Glenn!" a gruff voice asked, as a large husky man approached the duo. Judging by his appearance he looked to be the leader of the group and slung over his shoulder was a hunting rifle. Qrow looked at the man with an expression that showed great relief before answering," as a matter of fact yes, you see me and this kid are trying to get to Norwich Village, but we seem to have gotten lost any chance you guys can help us out?"

The leader gave Qrow and small smile before answering, "Well ain't that a coincidence, the boys and I were about to head there ourselves, since we couldn't find anything that's not Grimm in this forest! If you'd like you can tag along with us, I can tell you're a capable fighter but take from me this place ain't safe at night."

Giving the man a smirk Qrow spoke. "Oh you don't have to worry about me, I can handle any Grimm lurking around here, besides, the kid may not look it but he is quick on his feet so you don't have to worry about him," pointing to Verde who stood behind him giving the group weary looks.

"So, how long will it take for us to reach the village?" Qrow asked walking next to the leader of the group, observing his surroundings in case things go south.

Giving the huntsman a smirk, the leader spoke in a deep tone, "if the roads are clear and no Grimm attack us, it shouldn't take us more than a few hours to reach the village but given that the storm passed, we should be able to get there faster."

Verde observed the men around him, as they walked towards their destination, not taking his eyes off them, his eyes catching a glimpse of their weapons, they looked to be well taken care of, but his gaze did not go unnoticed by Qrow

" _So the kid is into weapon huh,_ " Qrow thought as he watched the boy quickly wipe the drool from his face, shaking his head he couldn't help but chuckle, _why do I feel like this kid is going to be a weapon obsessed nut like Ruby!"_ as they walked in silence Qrow couldn't help but ponder on how Verde ended up in the forest, " _I feel like this kid is just a bigger piece to something bigger but what could it be,maybe I'll talk with him once we get to the village so I could get a better understanding at how he ended up in the forest._

Giving,Verde one last glance, Qrow wondered mind drifted as he knew one thing," _Things are going to get real interesting once we get back to beacon!"_

 _ **AN: Okay so I'm finally done with chapter one, please forgive me but because of personal life I won't be uploading frequently but I'll try to when I can, now I'm regards to Qrow if I made him him OOC (still new to writing stories) so, I hope you're excited for the next chapter and this is Keeper of The One Winged Angel logging off.**_


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